Up, up and away

STOCKS REPORT

Led by banking and automobile stocks, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex closed at a nine-month high on Wednesday.

The index ended at 6,016.58 points, a 0.33 per cent gain or 19.88 points over Tuesday's close.

The Sensex hit an intra-day high of 6,036.70 points during the day.

Banking and auto scrips were among the biggest gainers of the day, while pharmaceutical and FMCG scrips were among the biggest losers.

Of the 30 Sensex scrips, 16 closed with losses, reflecting the nervousness at higher levels. The breadth of the market was far more positive, with gainers outpacing losers 2:1.

Institutional buying helped the market close above the 6,000-mark but some nervousness was visible at higher levels.

Brokers said the market was range-bound with some selling visible at higher levels. It rose in the afternoon session on buying support from institutions - mostly foreign.

In fact, players said strong foreign fund inflows so far has fuelled this rally which is mostly liquidity-driven.

"This could also be the reason to expect a further upside as the inflows are likely to continue," said the research head at a domestic brokerage.

Easing international oil prices also helped the sentiment, but at the current levels (of the Sensex) one can expect some volatility, he added.

Among the 11 sectoral indices on the BSE, the index of bank stocks, the Bankex, was the biggest gainer, closing 3.39 per cent higher, followed by the auto index, up 1.13 per cent and the PSU index with gains of 1.12 per cent.

Only three indices ended the day with losses over the previous close: the BSE healthcare index fell 0.64 per cent, FMCG index was down 0.57 per cent and the BSE capital goods index was down 0.12 per cent.

Analysts said buying in banking scrips was fuelled by hopes of improved profitability on the back of higher interest rates. Auto and PSU scrips attracted buying attention after their recent falls.

ICICI Bank was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 4.80 per cent to close at Rs 334.95, followed by Hero Honda Motors up 2.51 per cent to Rs 451.85, HPCL gained 1.93 per cent to Rs 361.45, Zee Telefilms was up 1.91 per cent to Rs 155 and the State Bank of India scrip gained 1.68 per cent to Rs 513.30.

Cipla was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 2.28 per cent to close at Rs 271.70, followed by Ranbaxy Labs, down 2.27 per cent to Rs 1049.20, Larsen & Toubro fell 1.33 per cent to Rs 846.45, ITC down 1.11 per cent to Rs 1135.55 and Grasim fell 1.07 per cent to Rs 1114.60.